ARCHIVED - Politicians commit to saving the Mar Menor as campaigning ends for the general election†

The leaders of the PSOE and PP parties were both in the Region of Murcia on Thursday

On the penultimate day of campaigning prior to the general election in Spain on Sunday 10th November – Saturday, in theory at least, is a “day of reflection” – the leaders of both the PSOE and PP parties were in the Region of Murcia on Thursday hoping to win over voters as they compete for the ten members of the national Congress who will represent the region in the next parliament.

The polls suggest that each of these parties might win 3 of the 10 seats up for grabs in Murcia, the others being shared among Vox, Cuidadanos and Unidas Podemos, and in an effort to improve their showing both Pedro Sánchez of the PSOE and Pablo Casado of thePP made promises regarding the Mar Menor. Sr Sánchez visited Los Alcázares, where the gota fría storm in mid-September caused disastrous flooding as well as sending thousands of tons of debris into the lagoon, and after walking through the town addressed the party faithful and other onlookers against the backdrop of a very brown-looking Mar Menor.

On the topic of regenerating and protecting the marine environment in the lagoon, the acting Prime Minister stated that “in order to prevent the collapse of environmental jewels like the Mar Menor we need commitment, familiarity and governments capable of working together”. He went on to say that if the PSOE is able to form a government after Sunday’s voting it will make “all resources” available to regenerate the lagoon, setting an example of commitment to the environment and recovering the Mar Menor “for the Murcianos, for Spain and for Europe”.

Meanwhile, Pablo Casado visited the La Flota secondary school in the city of Murcia before moving on to the Roman Theatre in Cartagena, where he expressed similar sentiments regarding the Mar Menor. After a meeting with leading PP figures including the president of the regional government, Fernando López Miras, he accused Sr Sánchez of failing to provide the help in solving the problems of the lagoon which has been requested, adding that if he is elected as the next Prime Minister he will also treat the Mar Menor as a “national and European problem”. He went on to promise that in the first meeting of his Cabinet a raft of measures will be approved in order to save the lagoon.

Needless to say, with voting just three days away at the time they were in Murcia, neither man missed the opportunity to blame his political opponents for failing to do enough to protect the lagoon both in the past and in the present.

In a sense it is encouraging that the leaders of both the PP and PSOE parties recognize that at the moment the Mar Menor is one of the topics which most concerns the people of Murcia, and that the marine environment of the lagoon is a matter of national importance. Similarly, they both promise sweeping measures to regenerate and protect the lagoon, emphasising the need for national and regional governments to cooperate.

But on the other hand it is a source of frustration that it apparently continues to be necessary to blame those of different political persuasions for the deterioration in the Mar Menor and the fact that it has taken so long for the need for far-reaching measures to be implemented, and with another hung parliament appearing likely after Sunday’s voting any hope that their words will soon be translated into action must unfortunately be tempered with a little pessimism.